Am I Invisible?

A very rad photo contest has come to light in NYC, brought to light by Bicycle Utopia NYC.

Anyone out there have any more photos of us Nightshades in NYC?

 

“Am I Invisible? A Portrait of New York Bicyclists” is an open call for photographs and photography-based art that capture the cultural diversity and individual style of New York City's distinctive bicycling community. Launched by Bicycle Utopia, a portion of the entry fee will go to Transportation Alternatives, New York City's oldest and largest bicycle advocacy organization."

LADIES ARMY IV FUNDRAISER PARTY = SUCCESS!

A HUGE thanks to everyone who came out to the Ladies Army Fundraiser on saturday night! We had a packed house, ridiculous amounts of fun, and I even won at gold sprints (#fiercecompetition)!!

SNOW SNOW SNOW.

Today we got our first snowfall. Now that it's officially winter in Toronto, I was reminded of these pics I took back in Brooklyn in October.... ie. the last time we biked in lots of snow during Bike Kill 8. What an awesome horrible disgustingly wet day (and still creeped out by Thomas of Horse Cycles' get up). Bring it on winter.

NYC IN B & W.

So as always, finally developed my film from New York. This time around I decided to only shoot black & white - which felt fitting for some reason (that, & it was generously provided free from the depths of our buddy Nate's freezer).

And speaking of New York, if you didn't catch it - the lovely NYC-based blog The Bird Wheel posted an interview with us! My favourite, and accurate quote regarding our decision making process, is "it's an anarchist democracy. And just like democracy, when it inevitably fails, love & facebook threads conquer all."

Too true.

Anyhow. A few to start. More in the coming days.

PORTLAND PHOTO RECAP.

Back in September a couple of Nightshades hit up Portland. We had some epic adventures on our bikes, (those which you can never quite capture in photos). My only regret is not marrying Namtron at the Church of Elvis... she's such a catch. And as always it takes me forever to develop my film, but here are some of my favourites.

Nightshades in Bikinis and Innapropriate Polo Photos

Here are some shots from Sepetember.

Beach time!






EastVan Polo Party!


Tim in his heavy metal costume.

Tee hee.

Then we danced!

BFF TORONTO SCREENINGS!

Better late then never right? Gonna be posting some highlights from Toronto's Bicycle Film Festival, over the next little while. So fun! Thanks again to our sponsors, Cap C, Cervelo, Crumpler, Orontas, YNOT, Dandyhorse, Bikes on Wheels & so so many others.

And an even bigger thanks to all our friends, family & the bike community of Toronto for coming out to our screening of FABRIC BIKE. The response & love was overwhelming. And if you're in Vienna, San Francisco, Lisbon or Sydney - FABRIC BIKE and the BFF are coming your way over the next month!

GROW UP/ Decentralized Dance Party

This happened on August 20th in Vancouver.



The Zenga's presented some amazingly edited visuals of what seemed to be of them growing up, and a lot of antics. They did this to beautiful live music by great musicians. It was awesome.


Vikesh Kapoor


Lead act Saintseneca was mindblowingly amazing. They made you want to dance and cry and laugh and love all at the same time. If you can see them, go. I got their 12" and free download and I feel like I'm the luckiest girl ever to see them in such an intimate setting.

Then after there was the Decentralized Dance Party. I went from Crab Park to Third Beach were there was a massive (and legal) beach rave set up. There were many a fun stop along the way.







It was really fun. Good job Vancouver.

BFF PHOTO RECAP: PANEL DISCUSSION!

Here's some pictures from the amazing panel discussion on wednesday night at the Gladstone Hotel. Thanks again to James, Tammy, Dave & Shamez for speaking, and also to Yvonne for doing a wonderful job moderating. Photos by Erin Simkin.

GIRLS ON FILM....OR ON BIKES?

So new york. what a trip. Epic bike rides to art shows to film screenings to dance parties to border crossings.

I think what I love most about attending the BFF in New York, is the people who travel in from all over the world. It’s so empowering to surround yourself with individuals just as involved, and just as in love with their bicycles. A community that transcends class and culture.

It also meant that the screenings were a beast all of their own. Lots of yelling and cheering and loving smack talk. A lively crowd to say the least.

But one thing has stuck with me that I’m feeling a little conflicted on. Brendt, the founder of the festival got up the the beginning of the Urban Shorts program and introduced directors, etc. During which he said lovely things about us Nightshades. He pointed out that two areas that are severely lacking in women, are specifically the film community, and the bike community. And how exciting it is to see more girls like us, stepping up.

Sentiments that were wonderful to have publicly acknowledged. But, at the same time, while it’s nice to be noticed as a minority in a scene, it’s weird to be called out for being women. It’s not as though anyone else would be called out for being a man. And while I in no way fault Brendt for his kind comments towards us- if anything, it just highlighted how far we have to go. And made me wonder why this is. Why we are such a novelty. Why more girls don’t ride. Or rather, why more girls don’t make themselves seen in the cycling community in the same numbers than men do. Because I think there are a lot of us out there.

Maybe it’s time for us to band together a little more. So for starters, if you are, or know of any rad girls who ride, send a link or a photo to dnsbikegang@gmail.com.

We’d love to rep all those lovely ladies on bikes out there. Because I know we’re not alone in this.

Also, side note: SERIOUSLY TORONTO?!?! COME ON!